Cleco: Now I Get It!
A guide to the fleecing of Central Louisiana.
Unfortunately, it has not been easy for me to find a play-by-play guide to the Cleco scandal. I have relied on statements made by those close to the events and by individuals who seem to understand what this is all about.
Last year, as many of you know, two top Cleco officials, Sam Sansing and David Pugh, defected (were terminated) from the energy supplier and quickly formed their own consultation company. Their first client: The City of Alexandria. These former employees informed the City of Alexandria that Cleco was dramatically overcharging the city for utilities. (I’m not certain how or why the City wasn’t aware of this in the first place). Cleco fired back, alleging that this information was proprietary and that these two former employees had broken a confidentiality agreement by revealing these price hikes to the city. At least two members of the mayor’s administration kept Cleco officials informed about what had been revealed during these closed-door sessions. (See: The Town Talk, July 26, 2005), and therefore, it seems likely that members of the local government were colluding with Cleco, severely jeopardizing the city’s ability to broker a fair deal. The city sued Cleco, Cleco sued the former employees (nothing says they’re guilty more than this), and one of the former employees, Mr. Sansing, countersued Cleco.
Mayor Randolph fired three members of his administration, including his chief of staff. According to WeSawThat, the damages they received from the city were “peanuts,” because, in part, the city’s lawyer was a member of the Gold firm, the same firm with which the two federal judges had practiced. That said, Cleco also unsuccessfully attempted to get a judge removed from their case against its two former employees, citing that the judge’s wife worked for the City of Alexandria.
It has also been reported that Cleco used the printing services of Alexandria City Councilman Chuck Fowler.
Clearly, the case against Cleco has been complicated by the personal relationships that members of our local government had with Cleco employees and officials, and clearly, Cleco has something to hide. Recently, they have waved the $1 billion plant as a carrot in front of our eyes, and this huge facility will, no doubt, help us tremendously. However, I understand the frustration people have when they see Cleco giving its leaders millions in bonuses when it’s obvious they took our city (and therefore our taxpayers) to the cleaners.
Should we still do business with them? I’m not sure if we have any other option. But yes, I think someone needs to address the ethics violations and sanction Cleco for its disservice to our community.
Now, fill in some of the blanks for me.
CenLamar 
thanks, lamar and we wanted to clarify and extend our remarks about “chambers, craig and williamson settled for peanuts”
in that what was really going on was never allowed to come out publicly and on the record by way of discovery/depositions/interrogatories etc.
our view is that chambers,craig and williamson seeing the handwriting on the wall opted to settle for something rather than nothing.
also people shouldnt be fooled at what the clown talk is doing to the community in reporting about the bonuses some cleco officers received. this is a non issue compared to the larger story. please dont buy into this attempt by them to change the focus to one of class warfare etc.
The best part of this whole tale is how Brigit became involved in the Cleco case. That’s the thigh slapper.
Is Natural Gas costs the reason our utilities are so high as DELIK of Cleco says in the Commercials? And a bigger question is……Is natural gas REALLY at an all time high? If not is Cleco so arrogant that they will blatantly lie to us?
WeSawThat: I agree with you comment on class warfare… and the statement about the handwriting on the wall. You’re right on.
Mr/Mrs/ or Ms. Anonymous: Tell me about Bridgett’s role. I can’t find her name in any article in the TT concerning Cleco. Maybe I am not searching correctly.
And to the other Mr. or Mrs. or Ms. Anonymous: They’re not just arrogant; they’re smarter than most of us.
Have you seen the commercial where they say our utility bills are higher because “natural gas is at an all time high”?….Isnt that an absolute lie? CAn anyone look this up and confirm?
Have you seen the commercial where they say our utility bills are higher because “natural gas is at an all time high”?….Isnt that an absolute lie? CAn anyone look this up and confirm?
this is to the previous post by “anonymous”
source: “Natural Gas Weekly Update” from the department of energy website click here.
Overview: Thursday, March 30 (next release 2:00 p.m. on April 6, 2006)
Since Wednesday, March 22, natural gas spot prices decreased at most market locations in the Lower 48 States, with declines of up to 38 cents per MMBtu. On Wednesday, March 29, the spot price at the Henry Hub averaged $7.16 per MMBtu, climbing about 9 cents per MMBtu or about 1 percent during the week (Wednesday–Wednesday). The futures contract for April delivery at the Henry Hub settled at $7.233 per MMBtu yesterday (March 29), gaining about 28 cents per MMBtu or about 4 percent since the previous Wednesday. Natural gas in storage was 1,705 Bcf as of March 24, which is about 62 percent above the 5-year average. Since March 22, the spot price for West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil increased $5.97 per barrel, or about 10 percent to $66.00 per barrel or $11.379 per MMBtu.
So does that mean that the Cleco commercials that say that our utilities are high because ” natural gas is at an all time high and expected to remain that way” is untrue?
anonymous – thats a good question – stocks,bonds, futures contracts etc is beyond our ability to comprehend. lol in fact it gives us a headache just trying to figure it out.
What a bunch of lying phonies…You would think they were giving money to the community out of the goodness of their hearts….they GAVE 1 million dollars to get Union Tank..wow..they gave out $5million to bigshots as bonuses…WHERE do you think that money came from . My friken refrigorator!!! My wallet. And they are sooooooo nice. Im sure they won’t make that 1 million back and MUCH MUCH MUCH more from Union Tank and all the people who come here to get fleeced by this unregulated Monopoly. So give me a damn break about the Goodness of wonderful Cleco. Liars and theives appears to be their mode of operation these days .
Rodemacher #2 in Boyce is coal fired.